No Matter What They Told You
by Fedora The Explora
Summary: Short one-shot of Kaiba brothers fluff. Seto struggles with nightmares, and Mokuba does his best to help him. But with a brother like Seto, help isn't always understood.


No Matter What They Told You

In the past few months, a new nighttime pattern had developed in the Kaiba household. Seto Kaiba had begun having nightmares, causing him to yell and thrash so intensely that he'd wake Mokuba, who would lie paralyzed in his bed without any idea what to do for his big brother. Then Seto would get up, quietly enter Mokuba's bedroom, and sit in the big blue chair next to the bed for awhile until he went back to his own room.

Mokuba liked knowing that his mere presence was enough to at least ground his big brother, but he wanted to know what had changed to cause these new disturbances. With all that he'd gone through, it was a wonder that these bad dreams hadn't started years ago. He knew that it wouldn't be easy to figure out though; one did not simply approach Seto Kaiba and ask if he was okay.

This particular evening, Mokuba remained awake as he listened to his brother get ready for bed. It was just after eleven; Mokuba was typically asleep by nine or nine-thirty. He heard the beeps of the computer as Seto checked his business email one last time for the night and the chimes signaling it was being shut down, the floor creaking as he walked over the the master bathroom, and the sudden rushing of water from the faucet as he brushed his teeth. He listened to his brother's footsteps as he walked over to his giant bed, and the _plunk _as he sat down. A few minutes of silence passed, then there was a final click, signaling that he'd shut off the lamp next to his bed.

The younger brother suddenly couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't going to sit and wait for his brother's dreams to scare him awake. Mokuba leapt out of bed and ran to the room directly across the hall. The door was always left slightly ajar, so when Mokuba barged in, Seto shot straight up and turned the light on.

"Mokuba, what the hell-"

"I'm not letting you have any bad dreams tonight," Mokuba declared.

Seto's expression froze; he hadn't realized Mokuba noticed. "I didn't know you woke up."

"That's not really the part that bothers me, Seto..."

The elder brother rubbed his temples. Mokuba would love it if he was asked to stay and sleep in his room that night. Or even if Kaiba simply spoke to him about the dreams; however, neither of these were options. Mokuba was the young one, the one in need of protection. Kaiba's responsibility was to do the protecting.

"Mokuba, go back to bed. I can take care of myself. I'll be fine."

The child stared at his brother, then slowly walked back to his own room, but didn't get into bed. Instead, he sat in the doorway, and fell deep into thought. Growing up, Seto was expected to have no real human needs. That included the need to feel comforted by or close to another person. Their adoptive father, Gozaburo, had attempted to drain the humanity from him, and to a certain extent, he succeeded. At least that's what Seto believed; Mokuba didn't.

True, his brother hadn't experienced normal love from anybody he looked up to as a child; even if he did from their biological parents, it was long forgotten. But if Seto didn't have the human ability to love, then he wouldn't have fought so hard to keep Mokuba out of harm's way-out of Gozaburo's way. Mokuba might have ended up with a psyche as shattered and fragile as his brother's, but Seto protected him by taking the blows himself, figuratively and literally.

The problem was that Gozaburo had led Seto to believe he was alone in the world, and he wasn't. Mokuba was always right beside him, even on the worst days...

Small, childish sounds started emitting from the bedroom across the hall, breaking Mokuba's thought process. He jumped up and scurried silently to his brother's bedside. It was eerie how vulnerable his sleeping face looked; most would have sworn he was a completely different person. Then again, most people wouldn't have gotten the chance to see Seto Kaiba sleep.

Mokuba wanted to wake him, but hesitated doing so until his brother started tossing and yelling for someone to _stop. _He placed both hands on his chest and shook up until Seto woke with a gasp and a start. His eyes focused on Mokuba after a few moments, but he stayed silent.

"Seto...I don't know what your dreams are about, but I do remember how Gozaburo and his staff treated you. But, um...they're gone. No matter what they told you, you aren't alone. I've always been here, Seto, because you've protected me every step of the way. But it's my job to at least be _here_ for you. I'm your brother."

Kaiba held out his arms, and Mokuba crawled into them. He paused, fighting the lifelong internal battle of his mind, then made his request.

"I don't want to talk about it, but...will you stay here with me tonight?"

Mokuba buried himself under Seto's blankets. "Already there."

Kaiba shook his head with a slight smile, settled down again, and pulled the kid close. For the first time, he actually understood what it was like to have someone take care of him.

It was weird...but maybe he could get used to it _sometimes_...


End file.
